Cyborg 009 (Graphic Novel)
Cyborg 009 is a 2013 American graphic novel published by Archaia Entertainment. The book was written by F.J. DeSanto and Bradley Cramp with artwork by Marcus To and Ian Herring The book is a condensed retelling of the story from the first half of the 1964 manga with some minor alterations to adjust for the present day setting as well as attract modern readers. Characters The Zero Cyborgs * Cyborg 009 (Archaia) *Cyborg 008 (Archaia) *Cyborg 007 (Archaia) *Cyborg 006 (Archaia) *Cyborg 005 (Archaia) *Cyborg 004 (Archaia) *Cyborg 003 (Archaia) *Cyborg 002 (Archaia) *Cyborg 001 (Archaia) Dr. Issac Gilmore (Archaia) Black Ghost Sekar Differences of the graphic novel from the 1964 manga Cosmetic changes were made to the team, mostly to accommodate for Marcus To's more realistic western style of art rather than Shotaro Ishinomori's cartoonish Osamu Tezuka-style format of the 1960s manga: *002 is now taller than 009, with long blond hair and without his trademark beak like nose. This caused a minor controversy in the 009 fandom as they felt that making Jet a "pretty boy" was unnecessary. Jet is also presented as a bit of a foil and rival to Joe, as he was in the 2001 anime adaptation. * 005, 006 and 008 were updated by removing racial stereotypes that were present in the manga. Both 008 and 006 had their facial features tweaked to appear more like real people and remove 008's infamous blackface from the original manga that unfortunately had been a part of the character's design until the 1980 film Cyborg 009: Legend of the Super Galaxy. 008's design skews closer to his appearance in the 2001 series, with him having a blond crew-cut. * The costumes were redesigned to have a two toned color scheme of red with bits of brown with metallic boots but overall retain the classic appearance of the original manga, although initially lacking the scarves. 009, however, keeps Ayumi's scarf after she dropped it. The later portions of the graphic novel depict the rest of the team wearing yellow scarves as well. ** The team also wear white and violet variations on their uniforms, in a sequence where they must blend in with the snow. * In addition to her super hearing and vision powers, Cyborg 003 now has the ability to manipulate sound as a superpower, according to her stats in the comic. This marks the third instance of 003 gaining a new power, as the anime adaptation of Conclusion~ GOD'S WAR gave her precognition and an enhanced version of her powers and in the 2012 film Re:Cyborg, it is implied that she has technopathic abilities. * 003's hair vacillates between being blonde and a ginger shade throughout the graphic novel, while she is usually a blonde in the original manga artwork. * Cyborg 009 has amnesia, a plot element that was never in the original story. He also had a girlfriend named Ayumi, who was originally a minor character who appeared at the end of the battle with Black Ghost. * Skull is renamed Sekar in the graphic novel. *Foundation X from the Kamen Rider tokusatsu series Kamen Rider Double is mentioned at different points as a supporter of Black Ghost. *The story takes place in the 21st century, with the team members' origins updated and tweaked to be more contemporary. In particular, 004's original origin no longer worked due to Germany having been reunified since 1990, although it is vaguely mentioned that he was trying to smuggle Hilda into the country. 002's gang leader history is also excised, with Jet only being a homeless street punk that wound up stabbing a man who had attempted to rob him. *Cyborgs 0010+ and 0010- were redesigned and renamed as 0010 Alpha and 0010 Omega, appearing much more humanoid and lacking their lightning bolt facial tattoos and albino-esque appearances. Their clothing color schemes were also swapped around, with 0010 Alpha now wearing red while 0010 Omega wears blue. *Cyborgs 0011 and 0012 are not present in the graphic novel. *Cyborg 0013 has a much smaller role and his robot body is composed of nanobots. External Links *Official Site *Archaia webpage Category:Media Category:Comics/Manga